National Natural Landmarks subject of National Park Service photo contest

View full sizeTerry Richard/The OregonianPoint of Arches in Olympic National Park, a National Natural Landmark.

The National Natural Landmarks Program's annual photo contest is open and
accepting entries.

This is a good opportunity to learn something about the little-known National Park Service program. Compared to the parks themselves, the landmarks skirt by low on the radar of most American travelers.

“This is the 50th anniversary of the program and we hope people
will join the celebration by photographing one of America’s National Natural
Landmarks,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis in a statement. “We’re
looking for images that capture the beauty and diversity of these natural
areas.”

Winning photographs will be featured in the 2013 National Natural Landmarks
calendar.

Contest entries will be accepted through June 30. Winners will be announced
in September.

Each photographer can submit up to three entries. There are no restrictions
on the date of a photograph; however, please remember that “old” slides and
prints often lose their quality over time.

There are 591 national natural landmarks nationwide representing an
array of natural features-from dinosaur tracks and fossils at the
Morrison-Golden Fossil Areas in Colorado to bioluminescent waters at Puerto
Mosquito, Puerto Rico, and to the largest impact crater known in the United States at
Barringer Meteor Crater, Arizona.

National natural landmarks include features on private, state, municipal
and federal lands. Program participation is voluntary and not all landmark sites
are open to the public.

National natural landmarks are designated by the Secretary of the Interior
following rigorous scientific study. The National Natural Landmarks Program is
managed by the National Park Service and recognizes significant examples of
biological and geological features and supports the cooperative conservation of
these important examples of America’s natural heritage.

Further information about the National Natural Landmarks Program, including a
complete list of designated sites and their accessibility is available at www.nature.nps.gov/nnl/

Sites in Oregon include the John Day Fossil Beds and Fort Rock. In Washington, look for Point of Arches off the Olympic coast and Steptoe and Kamiak Buttes in the Palouse.